Main Event
Day 1bc Completed
2019 Poker King Cup Taiwan
Main Event
Day: 1bc
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 Poker King Cup Taiwan
Buy-in
27,500 TWD
Entries
306
Level
28
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
60,000
Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event Draws 306 Entrants; Day 1B Frontrunner Chi Hang Leads Overall
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
The final two starting flights of the TWD 27,500 (~$875) 2019 Poker King Cup Taiwan played out concurrently at the poker tables of the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association in Taipei, Taiwan, and drew a total of 189 (107 unique) and 62 (54 unique) entrants respectively, to bring the total tally for the tournament up to 306 entrants in total, easily besting the TWD 5 million (~US$160,000) guarantee, with payouts yet to be confirmed.
It was Taiwan's Chi Hang the man to top the Day 1B counts after twelve 40-minute levels, shooting into pole position of the second starting flight's counts during the last five hands played, bagging up a sizable 277,800 in chips, which gives him the overall lead going into Day 2.
The only other player to bag over 200k in chips was Taiwan's Wei En Shih, who finished second in the overall counts with a stack of 241,200 at the close of play. Other notables to bag big include South Korea's Jae Wook Shin (172,100), the UK's Alex Lindop (167,700), and Hong Kong's Tsz Fai Tong (164,400).
A total of 67 players managed to successfully circumnavigate the Day 1B tournament minefield to lock up a Day 2 berth, with other notables to make it though including Hong Kong's Ray Chiu (119,400) and Wing Kei Chan (96,300), Germany's Max Menzel (115,700), Singapore's Richard Lim (98,000) and current Taiwan No. 1 on the GPI Taiwan List, Pete Chen (73,400).
Of course, poker being a zero-sum game, that means several players were unsuccessful in their Day 1B endeavors, with China's Jingzhi Wang, former Asia Player of the Year Jack Wu, Taiwan All Time Money List #1 James Chen and Hong Kong's Sparrow Cheung all falling by the wayside as play progressed.
However, with the format offering unlimited re-entry, those unable to make it though on Day 1B were able to try their luck once more for Day 1C. Of those previously mentioned above, only Cheung (95,500) and Chen (22,600) were able to make it though on the third and final starting flight, with both Wu and Wang falling by the wayside as play progressed. Of the two, Wang came the closest, busting to Ireland's Mark Gruendemann with just two hands from the close of Day 1C.
Gruendemann was one of only two players to make it through twice, bagging up on both Day 1B and Day 1C, though it was the latter that saw him bag the best stack, with the Irishman closing the day with 87,600 after railing Wang. The other player to make it through twice was Taiwan's Hsin Hui Peng, who qualified on both Day 1A and Day 1C, and Peng will be bringing through his best stack of 26,300 forward from Day 1B.
A total of 29 players out of the 62 Day 1C entrants survived the final flight, with Taiwan's Chou Chien Fa the man to bag biggest, concluding play with 202,000 in chips — the only player from the third flight to bag over 200,000.
The next best Day 1C stack is that of Taiwan's Justin Chu, who chipped up at the expense of Cheung late into the day's action, before a huge cooler of a hand against the unfortunate Deng Dan Kai saw the latter leave just minutes after the last four hands were announced after running pocket kings into Chu's pocket aces, with all the chips going in preflop. That timely catch shot Chu up to second in the Day 1C counts, and he will be returning for Day 2 with an extremely playable 143,900.
It is another Taiwanese player who rounded out the top three, with 'David' Ta-Wei Tou bagging up a stack of 129,500 with which to return for Day 2.
Both sets of survivors from the final two starting flight will unite for the first time with the 20 Day 1A survivors, minus the two stacks of Gruendemann and Peng, meaning 114 players will be returning to action when Day 2 gets underway at 1:00 p.m. local time (GMT+8) on Sunday, August 18.
Level length will increase from 40-minutes to 60, and the plan is to play six 60-minute levels, although this may change as, according to tournament director Bryan Lo, the money bubble will be definitely be reached and breached on Day 2 and play will not conclude until it does so. The PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to bring you all the action, so catch you then.
End of Day 1C Chip Counts
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
202,000 | |
|
|
143,900 | |
|
129,500 | 129,500 |
|
120,900 | |
|
|
106,600 | 106,600 |
|
104,400 | 104,400 |
|
|
97,500 | 67,500 |
|
95,500 | |
|
87,600 | |
|
83,200 | 200 |
|
|
74,600 | 74,600 |
|
56,300 | 26,300 |
|
|
56,100 | 56,100 |
|
55,600 | 25,600 |
|
47,200 | 17,200 |
|
|
46,100 | 46,100 |
|
|
44,000 | 44,000 |
|
|
37,600 | 37,600 |
|
|
32,200 | 32,200 |
|
|
32,200 | 32,200 |
|
|
31,700 | 31,700 |
|
|
30,700 | 30,700 |
|
|
29,200 | 29,200 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
22,600 |
Day 1C Concludes
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
The third and final starting flight of the Poker King Cup Taiwan is in the books with 29 out of the 62 entrants bagging up chips.
As is often the case, there was a last gasp burst of action as soon as the last four hands were announced with several players departing in a flurry of cards and chips. By far the sickest exit was a cooler that happened immediately afterward, with Deng Dan Kai and Justin Chu getting all the chip in pre-flop.
Kai had moved all-in with 
from late position although unluckily for him, Chu woke up in the big blind with 
and made a quick call. The 
runout kept Chu ahead and he stacked up to 143,900 while a dejected Kai headed for the rail.
Mark Gruendemann had a rollercoaster of a last four hands, getting aces cracked by Ben Andrews queen-eight suited in a blind on blind confrontation when the Brit rivered a flush to drop Gruendemann down from 89,000 to 35,000. However, the Irish player managed to more than double the very next hand, though this came at the expense of Jingzhi Wang.
It was Wang who was the initial aggressor, raising preflop and triple-barrelling the 
run out, with the last barrel a shove for ~22,000 or so. Gruendemann made a hero call with 
for two pair, which turned out to be good when Wang pitched her hand into the muck and hit the rail, with the Irishman stacking up to 87,600 to finish the day.
Jen-Yen Chien was another late casualty, falling at the hands of chip leader Chou Chien Fa, helping to cement the latter's position at the top of the counts, with Fa bagging up 202,000 to take the Day 1C top spot.
Sparrow Chueng also managed to rail an opponent in a blind on blind battle, with Cheung (small blind) and the player in the big blind getting all the chips in preflop with 
and 
respectively. Both players missed the board by miles when the runout came 
, meaning Cheung's kicker played and he stacked up to 95,500.
Full end of Day 1C counts will follow shortly, as will an end of day wrap for both Day 1B and Day 1C so watch this space.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
202,000 | 47,000 |
|
|
143,900 | 73,900 |
|
|
129,500 | 129,500 |
|
|
120,900 | 120,900 |
|
|
95,500 | 23,500 |
|
|
87,600 | 42,600 |
|
|
22,600 | -10,400 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Last Four Hands
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
The clock has been paused and the last four hands have been announced, with play concluding afterward.
Assorted Chip Counts
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
155,000 | 5,000 |
|
|
77,000 | -21,000 |
|
|
72,000 | 19,000 |
|
|
45,000 | 20,000 |
|
40,000 | -20,000 |
|
|
38,500 | 2,500 |
|
|
33,000 | 16,000 |
Fan Doubles As Final Level Begins
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Just 33 players remain in contention as the twelfth and final level of Day 1C of the Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event begins, with China's Chunsan Fan winning a decent-sized pot to commemorate the occasion. We arrived at Fan's table just as stacks were being counted down with the community cards spread 
.
Only Fan's hand was face-up on the felt, his opponent's already in the muck, with 
the winner and good for a pot of over 25,000, bringing Fan's total chips up to 83,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
83,000 | 21,000 |
Chu and Cheung Tangle
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Justin Chu and Sparrow Cheung battled in a big pot that saw the former take some chips from the latter. Action was picked up on the river with a little over 16,000 in the pot on a board reading 
just as Cheung led out for a close to pot-size 15,000 bet, only to see Chu move all-in over the top for ~50,000-plus.
According to tablemate James Chen, it was Chu who was the initial preflop raiser, with Cheung making the call from the big blind, with both players checking the flop. Cheung led the turn, with Chu making the call, before all the action on the river.
After some time thinking things over, Cheung elected to fold, dropping down to 53,000 in the process. Chu raked in a chunky pot, climbing to 70,000 and informed Cheung in table chat that he had a full house when the latter asked his holdings after the fact.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
70,000 | 70,000 |
|
|
53,000 | -22,000 |
Last Two Levels for Day 1C
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Blinds have just climbed to 600/1,200 with a 1,200 running ante with the start of level 11, meaning there is just 60-minutes remaining before the end of play.
Of the 62 Day 1C entries (54 unique) just 44 players remain. Chou Chien Fa remains the current front runner with a stack of 150,000 with Taiwan's Jen-Yen Chien looking to be the next biggest stack with around 98,000 in chips.
Other notables still in the running include Sparrow Cheung (75,000), Chunsan Fan (62,000), Alex Lee (60,000), Jingzhi Wang (31,000), Mark Gruendemann (25,000 and James Chen (17,000).
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
150,000 | 65,000 |
|
|
98,000 | 98,000 |
|
|
75,000 | 48,700 |
|
|
62,000 | 2,000 |
|
|
60,000 | -15,000 |
|
|
25,000 | -2,000 |
|
|
17,000 | -6,500 |
Play Resumes for Day 1C, Numbers Confirmed for Main Event
Level 12
: 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Level 10 has begun, with blinds coming in at 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante. Registration is now closed with Day 1C drawing 62 total entries. Combined with the 189 Day 1B entrants and the 55 entries from Day 1A, this brings the total number of Main Event entrants to 306 in total.